The Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is raising political funds from
some of her country’s most notorious crony businessmen, in the latest in a
series of controversies surrounding the former political prisoner.

Ms Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has admitted
receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds from companies owned by the
reviled bosses, who amassed fortunes through their close relationships with
the brutal junta that controlled Burma for almost 50 years.

They include Tay Za, a close friend of the former dictator, Than Shwe, who
reportedly became Burma’s first billionaire through contracts in timber,